Thursday, August 17, 2017

Women's Health = Family Health. Get Informed!Texas Well & Healthy

If you're not a woman yourself, chances are you care about one. So it should come as welcome news to see women's health, health care, and health services in the news a lot these days.

Paying attention to women's health needs benefits all of us. The health of families, the likelihood that children get good preventive care, and even men's health and economic stability is associated with mothers, sisters, wives, and grandmothers getting the care they need.

How many women in Texas began receiving new preventive care benefits--including their insurance picking up the full cost of many screenings, check-ups, and other supports--on the 1st of this month, thanks to the Affordable Care Act?

Which of the following is now included as preventive care for women under the nation's health reform law?a) mammograms b) pap smears c) screenings for gestational diabetes, HIV, & domestic violence d) breast pumps and other supports for nursing mothers e) birth control f) all of the above

Is all contraception fully covered under the law, or just certain types?

How much more likely is it that a child who qualifies for children's health coverage will miss out on getting it, if his or her mother remains uninsured?

Would a woman who is poor or close to poor have to pay the "individual responsibility" tax, if she can't afford the insurance options available to her in 2014?

Last month, we let you know that a group of Texas elected officials have been pitting health care for children against public education, as if our state can't afford to do both right. We disagree and know other Texans do, too. A petition calling for real solutions for health care and schools closes in two weeks. If you signed already, thank you! Please let your friends know to do the same. If you haven't signed, it's not too late. Sign the Texas Forward petition.

Giving Texas the Care It Needs

Have you heard that Texas has taken steps in the right direction, covering more than 200,000 formerly uninsured kids in just the past few years? Did you know our state might go in the wrong direction, and risk as many as 10,000 Texans' lives annually if the legislature follows through on the governor's plans for Medicaid? Both of these facts would be familiar if you read our campaign's recent commentary in theAustin American Statesman, with the details you've been waiting for on the choice Texas faces about health care for nearly 2 million working Texans.